Vanishing
by Paschka
Summary: Charlie Disappears
1. Chapter 1

The day Charlie vanished was a blur – a day in a week of boring cases and paperwork

A quick note from Paschka - I'm new to the world of writing, though certainly not to the world of reading. I fully admit to not having watched the last season of Numb3rs but have heard some of the details of the season finale, so some of this is AU, and some is not. Reviews, of course appreciated and rewarded with additional chapters!

CHAPTER ONE

The day Charlie vanished was a blur – a day in a week of boring cases and paperwork. Try as he might, Don couldn't remember any specific details about the day, not even months later.

He hadn't spoken to Charlie much since The Incident a month previous. Charlie couldn't help him on cases anymore, and really, Don didn't want to talk about Charlie's work at the University. In that last month, his dad would call, invite him over for dinner nearly every night, and Don mostly declined. Agent MacRooney from fraud cases wandered over to his desk and asked (_repeatedly_) if maybe Charlie's clearance couldn't be reversed as they could really use his help down here with a case involving the Federal Reserve Bank. And Don would say (_repeatedly_) that no, his clearance wasn't being reinstated, and the FBI would just have to solve its own cases. (_Novel idea, really_). David and Colby would sigh and complain about paperwork and their latest case and gee, the whizkid really could help them out here. As if Don had any say whatsoever in all of this. He was busy looking through personnel files to find a replacement for Megan, who would be leaving soon.

The one bright spot in those weeks was Lauren Allison, the new Forensic Computer Specialist, on loan from the CIA itself. Now, instead of going to Charlie or Amita with their computer-related cases, they went to Lauren. And she was good. Not as good as Charlie Eppes, she herself had said, after admitting to a surprised Don that she knew Charlie, and had worked with him once. On what she wouldn't say. But she was bubbly, called everyone honey or darling, and was a joy to work with. Don admitted to himself (_and no one else_) that he was developing a tiny little crush on the woman. In the week Charlie went missing, Don and Lauren had gone on their second date. Dinner at her place, he cooked.

When Charlie didn't come home two days in a row, their father called Don. Charlie hadn't come home, he hadn't called, he hadn't been at CalSci, or called to have his few summer classes taught by someone else. Millie was furious and worried. Larry didn't know where he was, and Amita had been leaving countless messages on Charlie's voicemail. But his cell-phone was in his book bag, along with this prized laptop. And his book bag lay abandoned on a chair in his room. Charlie forget his cell-phone? Often. His laptop? Never. Hadn't Don talked to Charlie recently?

Don didn't want to admit to his father that he'd been avoiding Charlie since The Incident, hadn't spoken to him in nearly a week, and even then their conversation had been short. In fact Don, for the first time maybe ever, had gotten the brush-off from Charlie. Couldn't really talk now, busy, working on some consulting things. No, nothing that needs clearance, don't have that anymore, remember? Don had asked if he should speak to the Director and see if maybe he could get it reinstated, or at least pave the way a little. Charlie had been silent and then said he needed to go and hung up. Don had been annoyed enough not to try and call him since. So while Don had been secretly dating Lauren and avoiding Charlie, Charlie had left his house without his laptop, left his car in the driveway, and disappeared.


	2. Chapter 2

The day Charlie vanished was a blur – a day in a week of boring cases and paperwork

CHAPTER TWO

Don showed up at dinner that Thursday night with Colby, David, Megan and Lauren in tow. They had insisted on coming to support Don and also (_probably mostly_) to see what his Dad had cooked up.

Dad did not disappoint. In his worry over Charlie, he'd cooked up a storm. There was enough lasagna to feed the entire city. Colby and David exchanged gleeful glances and sat down at the table to dig in. Megan displayed a bit more tact, said she was sure Charlie would turn up in no time and then served herself a heaping plate-full of steaming lasagna. She shrugged apologetically when Don narrowed his eyes at his team. David and Colby just ignored him. Lauren politely waited to be introduced to Alan (_She's a friend, from work. Co-worker, really._) before sitting down and serving up a modest helping that was soon followed by seconds.

"Megan's right, you know, Dad," Don said. "Charlie'll turn up in a couple of days. He's probably gone to a conference of some sort somewhere and just forgot to mention it. Charlie forgets things all the time."

"Not his laptop," Alan said seriously. "Really, Don, go take a look at it. See if you can log in to the thing and check his calendar."

Don sighed, eyed the quickly-disappearing lasagna, and trudged up the stairs to his brother's room. The offending book bag and laptop were sitting innocently on a chair in his brother's room. The bed was neatly made, there were no clothes anywhere except in the closet. No books, no papers strewn around. Don couldn't remember the last time he'd been in this room. Couldn't remember if Charlie always kept his room neat. (_Does that make me a bad brother?_) He picked up the bag and walked back downstairs, where he sat down at the table beside Lauren.

"That's weird," Colby said, pointing at the bag with his fork.

Don glanced back down at the bag that sat on the table, then at Colby with a questioning frown.

"It's empty," Colby said. "No papers piling out, folders, books, whatever else he always crams in there. Weird."

"He's on summer break," Don said thoughtfully. "And he doesn't consult on anything much anymore, probably."

Lauren snorted and nearly choked on her lasagna. "I'm sorry, what?" she said with a laugh. "Charlie doesn't consult anymore? Why?"

"He lost his security clearance," Don said, looking at her like she'd sprouted another head. "He can't consult…"

"Oh, honey, no," Lauren said, shaking her head. "I've worked with Charlie. We spent quite a bit of time together at one point, when we were working on the thing. And there would be down-time, where we had nothing to do except chat. Charlie complained to me once that he had an endless stream of job offers, from permanent to consulting. He said the phone calls and emails never seem to stop. He's even had to input a fee just to look at an offer."

"A fee?" Alan asked.

"Yes," Lauren said, nodding. "So that he doesn't get the kind of offer anyone off the street should be able to do."

"How much do you think he… would ask for…?" Colby asked, faltering somewhat in his question at the incredulous looks from his team mates.

Lauren shrugged. "Nothing too extravagant, I would imagine. Ten grand or so. I don't really know."

"Ten grand?" Don repeated. "To look at a piece of paper and see if he'll accept a job?"

Lauren nodded and shrugged. "It's really not uncommon for high-level consultants. Anyway, I would imagine it would just get absorbed into his regular fees if he accepts a job."

Don frowned and stared at the bag, nearly jumping out of his chair when something inside it beeped – loudly. There were snorts of laughter coming from David and Colby, and Megan covered her mouth and tried not to look amused.

Don glared at them all and pulled out Charlie's cell. It was blinking. Charlie had 36 messages waiting in his inbox. (_How long since you've checked that, Chuck?_) Don flipped open the phone and started to log into the voicemail, pausing a moment when he was stopped by the request for a password. Don proudly input 161815205320. That was Charlie's password to everything, though the numbers held no significance that Don was aware of.

A voice somewhat sternly informed him of the 36 messages that had been waiting, and Don began listening. The first from Amita. Dinner plans. The next three from Amita, dinner plans some more and where in the world was he? Don checked the date. Three days ago, Monday at 7pm. The next five were students with questions, then two calls from Millie, wanting to know where Charlie was and if perhaps someone needed to cover his classes? The next from a woman named Alecia. Don frowned at that one. She sounded British, and her message was abrupt. _It's Alecia. Alpha 1 November 3 Oscar 7. Don't call back_. The hell? The next two messages were not in English, and Don wondered briefly if Charlie spoke any foreign languages. One sounded German, the other something middle-eastern. Another five messages from Amita, sounding increasingly frustrated, and then increasingly worried. _Where are you? Are you working on a project? Please call me so I know you're ok_. Three from Millie. Two from Larry. Then, Alecia again. _Nightstrider. Marcus. I'm worried._ Seven messages from students. Two from someone calling from the Federal Reserve Bank. That one was interesting. _Dr. Eppes. This is Glenn Anderson calling from the Federal Reserve Bank. I'm just wondering if you had given anymore thought to what we had discussed. Please return my call as soon as possible. I'm wondering what to tell people here. _What exactly was Charlie involved in? Another one from Alecia. _Why haven't you called?_ Don frowned. Didn't she say not to contact her? And then one more from Alecia. _It's been resolved._ Don flipped the phone closed.

"And?" Alan asked. "Any clues?"

"I don't know," Don said with a shrug. "They're mostly students. And some that I don't really know what they're talking about."

"Can I listen?" Lauren asked. "I might know…"

Don flipped open the phone, logged into the voicemail and handed the phone over. He ignored Megan's questioning look. (_She has higher clearance; she might know who Alecia is. And anyway, she's one of us._) "There's nothing in there about a conference or meeting or a trip."

"Charlie would have called by now," Alan said, shaking his head. "What about his laptop?"

Don opened the bag and pulled out Charlie's laptop and a notebook. There was nothing else in the bag. He looked at the laptop dubiously.

Lauren flipped the phone closed and handed it back to Don. "I skipped the lengthy ones from the students," she said with a smile. "I don't know what the others are about. It sounds like he's working for Federal Reserve though."

Don nodded. "And what about that Alecia woman?"

"I don't know. But Charlie never received those messages, so I don't think he went to resolve whatever she was calling about."

"And the foreign language ones?"

"Dutch, for sure. And something middle-eastern, I've never been able to identify those languages so I can't really say. But my family is Dutch, from way back, so I recognize that one."

"Were you able to…?"

"No, I don't speak it."

"So Charlie speaks Dutch?" Colby asked, sounding impressed. "I didn't know that."

"Neither did I," Don admitted, looking at his father, who shook his head.

"What's in the notebook?" Megan asked eagerly.

Don set it down in front of him and opened it. Just as he expected, it was pages and pages of equations. The numbers written neatly, not at all like Charlie wrote on his beloved chalkboards. This seemed different. Lauren looked over his shoulder at the pages. "Complicated," she offered.

"Yeah," Don agreed. "Can you guess…?"

"Uh, no. I'm a computer expert, and while we use math on occasion, it's not this."

"There isn't even a starting point," Don said with a sigh, leafing through the book. "No title that says 'Equation to Calculate Whatever'."

"Can I see?" Colby asked. "Charlie sometimes used to explain stuff to me. You know, what things meant. I was starting to kind of understand some basic stuff."

Don handed the notebook over the table to Colby who began to read through it, with a concentrated frown on his face. David leaned over and they were soon talking and pointing at random numbers. "That looks like that time when we were looking for the counterfeit money, remember?" "The Search Parameter Thingy, yes." "And that?" "Mmmhmmm. Clearly."

Don rolled his eyes.

"Oh, what's this?" came Colby's excited voice. Don glanced up at Colby, who was holding up a photograph. "That is not Amita."

"Lemme see," Don demanded, reaching for the picture, which Colby reluctantly gave him.

The photograph was several years old, Don could tell by the length of Charlie's hair. Maybe three years? So Charlie was consulting for Don at that time. The woman was a petite brunette, pretty, laughing into the camera. Charlie was carrying her on his back, her arms thrown around his shoulders. He was laughing too. Don looked at the background. There was a white wooden fence, and several black horses far away. There were trees, just ordinary ones. Nothing to indicate a location. Don flipped the photograph over to see if Charlie had written anything. His eyes widened in surprise. In large numbers, Charlie had written 161815205320.


	3. Chapter 3

The day Charlie vanished was a blur – a day in a week of boring cases and paperwork

CHAPTER THREE

"I don't know who that is," Alan said. "Charlie's never brought her here, or mentioned… Well, not that I'd necessarily know. But wasn't he with Amita? Or was that before?" Alan seemed entirely flustered by the situation.

"Can't really tell a location," Megan said, peering at the photograph closely. "They're wearing light clothes. She's wearing a T-shirt and what look like riding breeches? I think I can see the top of some riding boots."

"Charlie's never mentioned horses," Don said. The whole situation was beginning to unnerve him.

"Well, I don't think he's dressed to ride. Jeans, a T-shirt." Megan shrugged. "I'm not a horsey person either."

"Can we file a missing persons report?" Alan asked.

Everyone looked at him in surprise.

"It's a bit soon," Don said slowly. "He's been gone two days."

"That's enough time," Alan said. "They always say 48 hours, don't they?"

Don nodded. "Yeah, I guess. But are we sure…"

"Don," Alan said sternly. "Charlie would not disappear for two entire days and not call me. He would not leave his laptop. He would not abandon his classes. This is your brother; you know he would not do this."

Don looked at Megan. "Well," Megan started. "It does seem unlike him. When I talked to him on Sunday-"

"You talked to him on Sunday?" Don interrupted. "Did he say anything? How did he seem?"

"He seemed his usual self. Maybe a bit quiet and subdued, now that I think about it. He just stopped by Larry's office to drop off some calculations he'd done for him. Charlie just mentioned that he had a few classes in summer and wanted to know how my packing was going, and if I needed any help. He asked how everyone here was and then he left. We really only talked for five minutes."

"So he didn't mention he was leaving?"

"No," Megan said. "But something could have come up last minute."

"He still would have called by now," Alan said, sounding frustrated.

"A word!" Colby suddenly exclaimed, pointing at the notebook he and David were still hunched over. "There's an actual word!"

"What is it?" Don asked.

"Madraghana."

"The hell?" Don demanded. "What does that mean?"

"Might be a name," David suggested. "It's just kind of in the middle of the page, with nothing else." He held up the notebook, the page in question displayed. It was empty, except the word Madraghana written in large letters, underlined several times. David put the book back down and flipped the page. "Oh, and here it says 'Don'." He held it up again to show everyone. There in the middle of an empty page, was Don's name.

"Anything else?" Don asked eagerly.

David flipped to the next page. "More equations."

Lauren cleared her throat and nodded at the laptop. "Maybe we should give that a try?"

Don reluctantly pulled the computer toward him and flipped it open. It immediately began to power up, and after a surprisingly short time, displayed a password page. Don keyed in the familiar numbers 161815205320 and hit enter. Access Denied. He looked over at Lauren. "I don't know his password."

"Well, if you'd like, I could try…?"

"You can do that from here?"

Lauren pulled her purse out from under her chair and dug around in it, eventually triumphantly holding up a memory stick. "Let's see what we can do," she said, pulling the laptop in front of her and inserting the stick.

Don looked at her with uncertainty. "Charlie's pretty protective of his laptop," he said. "If he finds out we've messed around with it…"

"Heads will roll," Colby helpfully supplied.

"I'll be discreet," Lauren said. "I've done this before, remember?"

"But this is my brother, who is ridiculously protective of that laptop. He would be furious if he walked in right now and saw you messing around with it."

"And then you can be furious right back for not showing up for two days," Lauren said. "Desperate times and all."

"Well, David and I can't figure this out," Colby announced. "Although, we think if we…"

"If we study it a bit more maybe we can make some headway," David said, nodding seriously. "We think we know what some of this means or at least points to. If we compare it to some of the other stuff Charlie's done for us, we might be able to guess."

"So can we file a missing persons report?" Alan demanded. "Tonight?"

"Why don't we wait until the morning?" Megan decided for Don. "We'll call around to some people… Larry, Amita… Maybe they'll have some ideas. And if we've found nothing, you could come down to the office in the morning and we'll sit down with missing persons."

Alan nodded. "Alright, that sounds fine."

"Good," Don agreed. He looked over at Lauren, who was still typing away and only getting angry bleeps in return. "Any luck?"

"Nope. I think this may require some more firepower. Can I take it to the office?"

"I'll bring it in tomorrow," Don said.

Lauren nodded and closed the computer.

Don picked up the photograph and looked at it again. Charlie with a woman, laughing, happy. Someone Don had never heard about, didn't recognize. Who was this woman, where was she, and what was her relationship with Charlie? And who was this Charlie in the photograph, looking so very comfortable and laughing?

Somehow he knew that they would get nowhere with Larry and Amita and all of Charlie's colleagues and friends. They would have to file a missing persons report, and Don dreaded what else he would find out about his brother.

"I'm going to check his room again," Don announced abruptly, standing and heading for the stairs before anyone could say anything. He entered the room more slowly this time. Stood in the centre and slowly turned around, taking in every detail.

"It's neat," Alan said from the doorway, startling Don.

"Is it not normally?" Don asked.

"Well," Alan said uncertainly. "I don't normally come in here. And it's not a mess, you know, like his office. But it's not this neat either."

Don nodded and walked over to the nightstand, opening the drawer. It was empty. He closed it and walked around to the other side of the bed, opening the drawer on that side. Papers, a neat pile. And on top, glaringly obvious, Charlie's wallet. Don took everything out. Flipped open the wallet. Cash, credit cards, driver's license, a picture of Don and Alan together. (_Where would you go where you don't need this?_)

"This feels like an invasion of privacy," Alan said, sitting down on the bed.

Don sat down beside him. "Well what do you want me to do, look for him or not?"

"No, I do. I just… it's an invasion of privacy, that's all. I know we have to do it to find him, but it is."

Don flipped through the papers. Some papers with equations, some books, project folders with titles Don didn't understand. Another photograph. Don looked at it closely. It was the same woman. The photograph was taken of her face, with dark hair blown by the wind, some across her face. She was looking off to the left of the camera. She looked sad. Was this the Alecia that had left the voicemails? Don gave the picture to his father, who looked at it and shook his head.

"She's very beautiful," Alan said quietly. "I just wish I understood… Why would he keep this from us? Whatever this is. She obviously means something to him."

Don took the picture and looked at the back, but nothing was written there. No numbers, no names, no dates. It was a question, a mystery, and Charlie wasn't around to tell them what it meant.


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks everyone for your reviews! Those of you who haven't reviewed, please feel free to do so! Constructive criticism also much appreciated and much studied. Flames will just be sniffled over and then burned. Chapters will be coming faster now, since I've finished writing the whole story and am just editing chapters before posting. Thanks again!

CHAPTER FOUR

Early on Friday morning Don led his father through the bull-pen toward the conference room. He had requested a meeting with Agent Danny Thiessen, the supervisory agent for the Missing Persons Team. Danny was already waiting with an open notebook on the table and three coffees. He stood when they entered.

"Danny Thiessen," he said amicably, shaking each of their hands. "I took the liberty of getting some coffee. The good stuff from down the street."

"Thanks," Don said. "This is my father, Alan Eppes. We wanted to talk about my brother." They sat down and Danny pulled his notebook toward him.

"Charlie, I've met him," Danny said, nodding and writing the name at the top of the page.

"Everyone seems to have," Don agreed.

Danny smiled and nodded. "So, what's up with Charlie?"

"We don't know where he is," Alan said. "He hasn't called. He hasn't shown up at work, or called to explain his absence or cover his classes. No one has seen him since Monday. His car is in the driveway. His cell phone and laptop left behind, and his wallet left behind too."

Danny frowned at the last item on the list and looked up at Don. "Have you called his friends?"

Don sighed and nodded, remembering back to the previous evening's frustrating attempts at contacting people Charlie knew. It had not proven helpful in the least.

"No one knows anything," he said. "He didn't say anything about going somewhere."

"Charlie travels a lot?

"Yes. He attends a lot of conferences and gives lectures all over the world. But he would say so if he was leaving, and his colleagues at the school who are in the same field would be aware of any conferences, and they're not."

"Has anything significant happened in the last few months?" Danny asked.

Don looked over at Alan. "Charlie lost his security clearance," Don said. "But it didn't seem to bother him too much."

"It's a pretty big deal though," Danny said. "His clearance was very high. Higher than yours or mine, heck, higher than the President, probably."

Don managed a short laugh. "Yeah. It was a bit strange, I guess, that he didn't really fight it."

Danny nodded and scribbled a few things down in his notebook. "So you last saw him on Monday?

"Monday morning," Alan supplied.

"He last checked his voicemail sometime before 7pm on Monday," Don added. "He was supposed to meet his girlfriend for dinner and never showed up."

"I'll need a list of names," Danny said. "Girlfriend, coworkers, friends. Anyone he would have contact with on a regular basis."

Don slid a paper across the table. "I wrote this up last night, when we were checking ourselves… I think it's pretty complete."

Danny nodded and added the page to his notebook. "I have to ask… Would Charlie hurt himself?"

"Suicide?" Don repeated incredulously. "No!"

Danny looked over at Alan, who shifted around somewhat nervously.

"Dad?" Don asked.

"There were a few instances, when Charlie was at Princeton, that, well. Your mother took care of it, and wouldn't really answer my questions. Told me to leave it alone."

"Charlie tried to commit suicide?" Danny clarified.

"I don't know," Alan admitted. "He overdosed on pills. I don't know the details myself. Margaret said it was taken care of and not to mention it to Charlie. But Charlie is at a different place now, emotionally. He would never."

Danny nodded, scribbled some more things in his notebook.

"He didn't," Don said determinedly. "He wouldn't do that. He wouldn't leave us to wonder."

Danny looked up at him and nodded. "I understand. It's just that, well, he left his wallet."

Don leaned back in his chair, looked at Danny. "I get it. I know you do this a lot, and sometimes people kill themselves. I don't care what Charlie may have done in the past," he glared at Alan. "But my brother did not kill himself. Period. Someone has taken him. He's a genius, he's done a lot of consulting with various agencies. Someone like him might be pretty valuable."

"You think he's been kidnapped?" Danny questioned.

"I don't know!" Don threw his hands in the air. "I have no idea. But I know my brother. I do know him."

"Ok," Danny agreed. "We'll look at this from every angle possible. We'll need access to his house, his car, his work. Computers."

"His laptop is with Lauren Allison. No one else will be able to hack into it."

Danny scribbled the name down. "Ok. I'm going to handle this one personally. He hasn't been gone very long, we're at day 3 now. He may very well have just decided that he needed a couple of days," he held his hands up before Don could protest. "But I hear what you're saying. It's not like him. We'll start looking. It's going to be a sensitive thing, what with Charlie's previous security clearance. Some of those agencies might start their own investigations, just to warn you."

"I'm going to do my own investigation," Don said. "I just… I need to look for him. Whatever I find, I'll share with your team."

"And we'll do the same," Danny agreed. "I'll keep you in the loop. You know him better than anyone."

Don nodded and hoped that was the truth.


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks as always for your wonderful reviews! Anyone figured out the numbers on Charlie's photograph yet?

CHAPTER FIVE

It was noon, and Don had sent his father home with Danny Thiessen so that the agent could search through Charlie's personal things, (_where he really has no business being_). He sat at his desk, staring at the two photographs of the mystery woman. In the close-up of her face he could see freckles. Her eyes were brown. She wore a necklace, a simple silver chain with a ring looped around it. Don stared at it, held it an inch from his nose and tried to make out anything special about it. Anything that could be traced.

The sound of a throat clearing snapped him out of his thoughts, and Don looked up to see David and Colby standing in front of his desk. (_Uh oh._)

"So we were thinking," Colby began.

Don narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Colby and David conspiring together never ended well. Just two months ago there had been an incident involving Colby and a prostitute and a biker gang that had ended in a city-wide power failure, all because Colby and David had been _thinking._ The Event was never to be spoken of in Colby's presence, but it was much discussed when he wasn't around. Apparently it had been pretty spectacular.

"Yes, we were thinking," David continued. "Maybe we should do some snooping around."

"Snooping around?" Don repeated, watching Megan casually inch her way into hearing range.

"Yes," Colby said, nodding. "We know you've got Thiessen on the job, because we saw you in the conference room. But you know, Charlie's on our team, and we know him a whole lot better than anyone. So we were thinking, maybe we could do our own investigation? Even if the Director says no, we could just do it off the books, so to speak."

Don looked at his two team members and couldn't help being thankful for their dedication. They cared about his brother, would do just about anything to find him, even go against the Director's orders. You couldn't find a better team anywhere.

Megan joined them. "I know I'm leaving in a week, but I'm in, whatever you want to do to find him."

"Thanks, guys," Don said. "That means a lot to me and to Dad. I already told Thiessen that we were doing our own investigation, and he said he'd share any information he might have found. I thought I'd go see if Lauren's made any progress with Charlie's computer. Maybe you guys could get started on the mystery woman in the photographs? Her name may or may not be Alecia, and I know we haven't got anything to go on, really, but maybe…"

"We can run her image through the face-recognition programs," Colby suggested. "See what pops up? And since we know she rides horses, we can get started on riding stables in the area?"

"And I can contact this Glenn Anderson from the Federal Reserve," Megan offered. "See what he has to say."

"Ok," Don said, getting to his feet. "It's a start. Thanks again, guys."

Don took Charlie's cell from where it had been lying on his desk and stuck it in his back pocket. He had been fielding calls from students all night and morning, but he didn't want to turn the phone off or leave it behind just in case the mysterious Alecia called again. He made his way down to the computer labs.

Lauren was sitting at her workstation, having a staring contest with Charlie's laptop, which was hooked up to so many wires Don could barely see the small machine.

"Hey," he said in greeting.

"Hey," she replied, sounding somewhat rejected. "When we find your brother he's got some explaining to do."

"To many of us," Don agreed. "What's up?"

"This _thing_ refuses to grant me access. I've tried everything I can think of, and trust me, I can think of many things. Nothing works. The funny thing is, I think it knows I'm trying to hack in."

"The computer knows?" Don asked with a laugh.

She glared at him. "Yes. It keeps changing the password screen."

"Oh?" Don asked, immediately intrigued. "What does it say?"

"Oh, lots of things. 'nice try' 'you're not Charlie' 'that's not gonna work' 'you'll have to try harder' 'not so much, no'." She shook her head. "And I won't repeat the last one, cause it wasn't nice at all, but since then it refuses to even beep at me."

"Have you tried 'Madraghana'?"

"Yes. It was one of the first things I tried. But it's a no. Though that got the 'you're not Charlie' response. I think I tipped it off with that one."

"I hate to say it, but I don't think the computer can actually think."

Lauren jabbed him with her elbow and then started unhooking the many wires from the laptop. "I think we need to lull it into a false sense of security."

"Ok, well, let me know how it turns out."

"Will do."

Don left the lab and wandered back up to his own desk. It was time to search the FBI's most trusted database for the word (_name?_) Madraghana and see what would pop up. He sat down at his desk, fired up the internet, and opened up a Google page. He entered the word and hit search. His face fell with disappointment when he search came up with no matches found. He had hoped Charlie might have left a clue with the word, and maybe created an obscure web document that would provide all the answers.

"Hey," Megan said from where she had appeared at his desk. "Feel like going on a trip?"

"Where to?" Don asked.

"The Federal Reserve Bank, where I have secured us an interview with Glenn Anderson, one of the pretty big names over there."

"Really? That quickly?"

"I said 'Charlie Eppes' and doors started opening, my friend," Megan said with a small smile. "Come on."

10 minutes later, Megan drove them through the city on their way to the Federal Reserve Bank. "Did Lauren have any luck?" she asked.

Don shook his head. "Charlie's laptop is throwing up walls all over the place, and it might be driving her off the deep end."

Megan laughed. "Well, I can image it will be tricky."

"She's with the CIA," Don reminded her. "She knows what she's doing. Charlie shouldn't have such a crazy password system on his computer."

"What exactly is so crazy about it?" Megan asked.

"When she tried to enter Madraghana as a password, the screen actually said 'You're not Charlie'. And it did similar things when she tried some of her password breaking programs."

"It almost sounds like someone is linked to the computer and is telling it what to say," Megan said thoughtfully.

Don looked over at her. "That's possible?"

"Of course. I think."

Don whipped out his cell phone and dialed Lauren's number. She picked up immediately. "Is it possible that someone is linked to Charlie's computer and is telling it what to do?" Don asked.

"Yes, because I was born yesterday I hadn't thought of this at all," Lauren said dryly. "It's possible, but I already checked it. There's no one linked. I've got to go." She hung up.

"And?" Megan asked eagerly.

"That's a no," Don said. "It's possible, but not happening here."

They were silent for a few minutes, Megan concentrating on the road, Don trying to make sense of any of this at all. "I just wish I could figure this out," Don said. "Why didn't I talk to him last week?"

"Because you can't foresee the future?" Megan offered. "We'll find him. You and Charlie were ok."

"Then why didn't he say anything to me?"

"Maybe he did," Megan said. "Maybe he's left you clues, with those pictures, and the notebook, and your name on one of the pages."

"Yes, well, when anyone is able to figure out those equations, let's say this century, maybe they will mean something. Maybe they'll tell a whole story. But I can't read that, I don't understand it, and Charlie knows I don't understand. He knows better than to leave me with pages and pages of numbers that no one, no one in the world, can understand except him!"

"I can't even begin to comprehend what that must be like," Megan said. "Having no one understand what you're saying. It must be difficult for Charlie sometimes."

"This morning I found out that Charlie once overdosed on pills," Don said quietly.

Megan looked at him sharply. "What?"

"And I don't know what that means. Did he mean to do that? Was it an accident? Has it just happened the one time? I have all these questions, and the only ones who can answer them are my mother and Charlie. I have to find him, I have to ask him why he did that, and who the woman is, and why he seems so much happier there. And who Alecia is, and why she leaves him strange messages. I have to find him."

"It's just the one picture, Don. It doesn't mean he's happier somewhere else."

"I just don't understand."

Megan looked over at him, then back at the road. "Well, you've got a crack team of FBI agents on the case," she said with a small smile. "We've got one of the highest solve rates in the entire country, our team. We can figure this out."

"I don't think he's ok. I keep trying to stay calm and take it step-by-step, and not worry, but I don't think he's ok."

"Charlie wouldn't-"

"No, he didn't do this himself. He didn't disappear himself." Don was silent for a moment, willing away the sense of panic that had been surfacing. "Don't tell anyone about the pills. Charlie would be embarrassed."

"I won't say a word," Megan said, parking the car in front of the Bank. "Do you need a moment?"

"No," Don said, unbuckling his seatbelt and stepping out of the car.

The two had made their way into the building and were soon ushered up an elevator and into a plush office, where they were greeted by Glenn Anderson, Chief of Security. He was an older man, probably in his late fifties, distinguished looking with a firm handshake. Don liked him right away.

"What can I do for the FBI?" Glenn asked after motioning them to comfortable chairs in front of his desk.

"We are investigating the disappearance of Dr. Charlie Eppes," Don began.

"Charlie's disappeared?" Glenn asked, visibly worried. "When did this happen?"

"Several days ago. When did you last speak to him?" Megan asked.

"Sunday evening. Charlie is working on a project for us."

"Can I ask what it was about?" Don asked.

Anderson seemed uncertain for a moment, then nodded. "I suppose no harm can be done, the problem has been resolved, after all."

"We would appreciate it," Megan prodded.

"Several years ago, Charlie developed a password protection algorithm for us that is used system-wide. Two weeks ago, we discovered a breach in security. Somehow the algorithm was leaked, and accounts accessed by someone. The FBI as a matter of fact has been looking into it for us, but it's likely your Fraud Branch. Charlie did all his work for us onsite, with secure computers. He took nothing home. We are still not sure how it was leaked."

"You suspected Charlie?" Don asked.

"No, not at all. Charlie is smart enough to be able to steal whatever he wants without getting caught. He also admitted from the beginning that he has a photographic memory and could probably rewrite the algorithm once he had left here. We never suspected him, but we did need his help fixing it. He worked on the problem for us at his home and actually emailed me a new algorithm Monday evening." Anderson seemed surprised for a moment. "I'm sorry, I didn't intend to mislead you there. I did last speak to Charlie Sunday evening, but he emailed me Monday evening."

"Can I see the email?" Don asked eagerly.

Anderson nodded and turned to his computer. "I can't let you see the attachment that he sent, but that's just numbers anyway." He typed for a few moments and then turned the screen to show the two agents the email Charlie had sent.

_Glenn,_

_Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. Here's the completed patch. I will be in to see you next week for a brand new security algorithm. I'll call you._

_Charlie._

The email was dated Monday at 8pm. Don shook his head. So Charlie had somehow stood Amita up for dinner, hadn't checked his voicemail or gone to class, but still emailed Glenn at 8pm, when Alan had never even seen him in the house.

"Is there anyway to know where he sent it from?" Don asked.

"It's from his email address," Anderson said with a shrug. "But if you would like your analysts to come by and try to trace the email, that would be fine."

"I think we'll do that," Megan said, standing. "Thanks very much for your help."

"Anything at all I can do," Anderson said, standing as well and shaking their hands again. "Charlie is one of our most trusted consultants. We need him."


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

"Anything?" Colby asked when Megan and Don returned to the office, with bags of lunch from the local deli.

"Charlie sent an email to Glenn Anderson at 8pm," Megan said, filling Colby in on the rest of the details. "Do you want me to call Danny Thiessen to give him an update?"

"If you don't mind," Don said with a nod.

Megan walked over to her desk and picked up the phone.

"Don, could I see that sequence of numbers Charlie wrote on the back of that photograph?" Colby asked.

Don wrote the numbers – 161815205320 – on a notepad and handed it to Colby, who sat down at his own desk.

Don walked over. "What are you thinking?" he asked, watching Colby copy the numbers neatly spaced out across the top of a new sheet of paper.

"I'm thinking Charlie doesn't just randomly write numbers down. They have to have a purpose. And I don't know about your voicemail, but mine only accepts a four digit password. Charlie must have gone through the trouble to reprogramming his cellphone to get it to accept such a long one. Remember a few months back when I had injured my arm and had to take two weeks off?"

Don nodded.

"Well, I went to see Charlie teach one of his classes. It was advanced cryptology, and really way over my head, but I've always found that stuff interesting, you know?"

Don nodded again as Megan walked over and watched with interest.

"Anyway, after the class I went to see Charlie in his office, and we got to talking, and I mentioned that I liked this stuff but didn't think it was anything I could do. And he was telling me that it's really all just pattern recognition, which I should be pretty good at, being an FBI agent and all. Then he starting talking about different codes and anyway, we got to the point where he wrote a string of numbers just like this one on a blackboard and helped me solve it."

"You think you can solve it?" Don asked eagerly.

"I can try," Colby said. "Basically we were talking about the simplest code there is, substituting numbers for letters. If he did the same thing here, I can solve it. First, if we assume that A equals 1 and Z equals 26, then the only letters that can have a 0 in it, are J at 10 and T at 20." Don watched as Colby circled the 20 at the end of the sequence and wrote a T underneath. He did the same with the other 20 in the middle. "Ok, so in between here we have a 5 and a 3. There is no number 53, so it must be an E and a C. The number in front of the T is either an A and E or an O." he wrote both underneath. "In front of that is either an A and H or an R and the first two are an A and F or a P." Colby looked at the page for a moment and then wrote PROTECT in big letters. "That's the message. He wants us to keep that girl safe."

"So this is a good sign, right?" Megan asked. "He left that code knowing Colby could crack it."

"But we don't know who she is. He's asking me to protect her and not telling me who she is," Don said with a frustrated shake of his head. He leafed through Charlie's equation-filled notebook and nearly dropped it when Charlie's cell phone started ringing. He dumped the notebook on his desk and flipped open the phone. "Hello?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end before a woman asked, "Who is this?" She sounded curt and very British.

"This is Don Eppes, who is this?"

"Why do you have Charlie's phone?" she demanded.

"He can't come to the phone right now. Who is this?"

"Is he dead?"

"No! He's… we don't know where he is, but we're looking. Who. Is. This?"

"This is Alecia. If Charlie's gone off the grid, I recommend you not search for him, for your own safety. Keep this phone charged at all times."

Before Don could object, the call was disconnected.

"I give up," Lauren said as she walked over to Don's desk. "This has never happened before, and I really would rather not talk about it, but I can't crack this password. It's impossible." She set the laptop on Don's desk and dejectedly plopped down in a chair. "Anything new?"

"I just got a call from the mysterious Alecia. She was not pleased with me. Said we shouldn't search for Charlie. Really, who does she think she is, telling me not to search for my own brother?"

"So we're no further on that one," Megan said. "Why don't we go get some dinner? It's getting late. David's still running the woman's picture through our face-recognition programs, but it could be days before we get a result back. I can stop by Calsci and see if Larry recognizes those equations? I think Amita had to go to a conference somewhere."

Don nodded and rubbed his eyes. "It's getting pretty late I guess. I should go home and check with dad, see if he's heard anything."

"I think he would have called you or come here if he had," Megan said. "But yes, let's take a break, and we can continue in a few hours with a fresh perspective."

The team split up. Megan took Charlie's notebook to Larry to see if he or his colleagues could better understand the equations. David decided to stay in the office to supervise the program that ran the face-recognition programs, and Colby went to see Danny Thiessen for an update on the case.

Don went home. As he expected, his dad had spent the day searching Charlie's room, the garage and even Charlie's car for any clues Don or Danny Thiessen might have missed. He did, after all, know Charlie the best, and would be best able to spot some obscure clue Charlie had left.

"Anything?" Alan asked with a defeated sigh, sitting down at the kitchen table where Don had parked himself.

"No. If Charlie's trying to tell us anything, he's done it in such a ridiculously vague way that no one will be able to figure it out," Don said with a tired shake of his head. "I just don't understand. On the one hand I'm thinking, it's only day three. Maybe he really did just forget to call. Maybe there is a conference or awards ceremony somewhere that he's gone to and he didn't bother to let us know," he held up his hand to stop Alan's protest. "Hold on, I just need to vent for a minute. There isn't really anything to suggest that he's been taken. I mean, Charlie doesn't like violence of any sort, but I'm pretty sure he'd put up a fight if someone did try to take him. But there's nothing. Then again, why not take his car? Wouldn't he need a ride to the airport if he's left the country?" Don took out Charlie's cell and checked the call log. All the numbers had been deleted. "But of course if he did call a cab, he's made sure to delete the call log, so I can't check that," Don muttered. "He's such a jackass sometimes."

"Don," Alan admonished.

"Sorry, but he's really not making this any easier. Then I was thinking, well, even if he's left the country, he would at the very least have to make sure his classes are taken care of, right? Otherwise he wouldn't have a job anymore when he comes back. But then again, who am I kidding, he's a _genius_, they wouldn't ever fire him, he's pretty much got himself a free ride through life. Don't say anything," Don said at Alan's outraged expression. "I know that's not true. I'm just frustrated. Really frustrated. Then I feel guilty for being mad at Charlie for all this, when it's not his fault his mind works this way, that he sometimes has trouble thinking like _I_ think. Sometimes he must really think I'm stupid."

"I'm pretty sure Charlie does not think you're stupid," Alan said.

"But it must _feel_ that way sometimes for him. Do you think he meant to kill himself at Princeton?"

Alan sighed heavily. "I don't know. He must have known taking all those pills would… but then he's impulsive sometimes and doesn't always look at things from all angles."

"I think he meant to," Don said. "I think he got so tired of no one _understanding_ him, of having to _explain_ every little thing to everyone, of having everyone look at him that way – and I saw that look people gave him, dad – and, well. Until we started working together and we got a bit closer, I think I used to look at him the exact same way, and I'm his brother."

"Don, Charlie never thought you –"

"He shouldn't have to! He shouldn't have had that extra worry!" Don ran his hands through his hair roughly. "Not that he's an innocent victim in everything. He's played some pretty awesome pranks on me in the past. And then we're back to this whole thing. And I'm annoyed because Charlie's put some weird password system on his laptop that even a specialist from the damn _CIA_ can't crack, and I'm mad at him again. And despite me and him getting closer and talking and everything these last couple of years, I've found out there was a woman in that time somewhere that I don't know about, and there are messages on his cellphone that sound suspiciously like some secret government organization, and I'm realizing that Charlie and I weren't close at all, he's kept a lot of secrets from me. So what, was he just playing along and never wanted any sort of relationship with me at all? Did he roll his eyes every time I called him in to help on a case? Did he ever even want to help me?"

"Don, I can tell you with absolute certainty that Charlie loved working with you. He loved that you valued his opinion, that you trusted him to help you. Don't doubt your relationship with Charlie. I think once we find him, which we will – I refuse to think otherwise – once we find him, he'll be able to explain."

"What could he possibly say to explain? Hey, sorry I've been away, oh and I'm secretly working for some top secret spy agency oh and there's this girl?" Don sighed. "I don't think so."

Alan shook his head and walked to the fridge. "Do you want me to make you something to eat?"

"No," Don said quietly. "I should get back to the office, see what the team's come up with. Megan's gone to check with Larry, see if he or Millie can figure out that notebook."

"I believe you can find him, Don," Alan said seriously. "And I think Charlie knows you can find him. You and your team."


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for the reviews! One more to go after this, believe it or not!

CHAPTER SEVEN

It was 7pm when Don returned to the office. Megan was sitting at her desk working on her computer and David and Colby were sitting at David's desk doing the same.

"I went to see Larry," Megan told Don as he wearily dropped down in his chair.

"And?"

Megan shook her head. "I showed it to both Larry and Millie, but neither has any idea. It's apparently advanced math, of the kind that very few people in the world can do. I'm a bit hesitant about just continuing to show this to people though. This could very well be some top secret code."

Don nodded. "Yeah, I think we can put that aside for a little while. When Charlie comes back I'm enrolling in all of his classes."

Megan laughed. "So you can learn the math or so you can watch him like a hawk?"

"Both. I think you guys can call it a day. We're not going to get much further on this tonight…"

"Got it! I found her!" David yelled from his desk all of a sudden. Megan and Don rushed over. On his computer screen was a picture of a woman and a large black horse, a riding helmet was on her head, and a blue ribbon attached to the horse's bridle. She was beaming at the camera.

"Where did you find it?" Don asked incredulously.

"We were waiting for the program to run through, and I thought, why don't we search online for pictures of local riding stables, see if I can match their pictures with the background in the photo of Charlie. Well, I discovered that many of the websites have pictures of their clients on it, so I just started looking. It's been hours, but this looks like her."

"There's no name?" Don asked.

"No, just pictures, no descriptions. But the stables – Red Leaf Stables – is just an hour drive out of the city. We could be there by 8."

"Let's go," Megan said eagerly. "We can stop for food along the way."

An hour later, Colby parked the SUV in front of a large barn and David, Megan and Don piled out.

There were horses everywhere, and Don was pretty sure he recognized the fencing and trees as being the same as on Charlie's picture. This was where it must have been taken.

"Come on," Megan said, determinedly walking into the barn. The barn itself was tidy, and had a wide aisle down the centre and rows of stalls along either side. On the front of each stall was a plaque with the horse's name and owner's name and emergency contact information. There were a few people here and there with their horses.

Don stopped in front of a stall with a large black horse in it and stared at the plaque. "Oh my god," he muttered.

"What is it?" Megan asked.

Don motioned toward the horse. "Madraghana, owned by Marjolie Cooper."

"Well, that explains it," Colby muttered.

"Can I help you?" a female voice asked from behind the group.

They all spun around and there she was, the mystery girl from Charlie's picture.

"Is this your horse?" Don asked.

"Yes," she said suspiciously, hands on her hips. She was petite, and dressed in riding breeches a boots. "Who are you?"

"My name is Don Eppes. Do you know my brother Charlie?"

"Can I see some identification?" she asked, surprising Don with the determined and suspicious edge to her voice.

Don pulled out his FBI badge and showed it to her, then pulled out his wallet and showed her a picture of him with Charlie for good measure.

"What's your name?" Don asked, seeing her determined resolve begin to crack. She looked near tears.

"Marjolie Cooper. Has something happened to Charlie?"

"We don't know. We can't find him. How did you know Charlie?"

"We… Charlie and I met in Europe three years ago. I was looking at some horses; he was doing a lecture tour. I temporarily abandoned my search for a horse and traveled with Charlie for two months. We got pretty close, but then something happened that scared Charlie."

"What happened?" Don asked.

Marjolie looked at him. "These people kept showing up. At our hotels, at restaurants, at his lectures. Everywhere we went they were there. Sometimes one of them would speak to Charlie when I wasn't close by. He was afraid of them, I'm pretty sure, because he started making phone calls to people in the middle of the night. And then others stared appearing, and it was freaking me out. People to protect him, people who were trying to get him." Marjolie shook her head. "Charlie insisted I go back home. Said he didn't want me to be hurt or taken. So I did."

"And Charlie?" Megan asked.

"I didn't hear from him for a couple of weeks, and then Maddie was delivered." Marjolie motioned to the horse. "Charlie bought her for me." She smiled. "Imported her from the Netherlands."

Don looked at the horse again. "Charlie bought you a horse? He doesn't know anything about horses."

"Ah, well, he had to listen to me talk about them for two months," Marjolie said with a laugh. "He remembered me telling him where my dream horse would come from, so he visited the farm and well, I don't even know how that would have gone." She shrugged. "He comes here sometimes to see her and me."

"But you're not…"

"Together? No. I guess I was scared, and Charlie respected that. Stupid me." Marjolie stepped past Don and opened the stall door to stroke Maddie's neck. "You can pet her if you want."

"Uh, no," Don said. "She has teeth."

Marjolie laughed. "Charlie said the same thing at first. But now when he stops by he'll feed her carrots and apples. Maddie loves Charlie." She turned serious again. "Maybe those people are after him again?"

"When did you last speak to him?" Megan asked.

"Sunday night."

"What time?" Don asked.

"Late. He woke me up. He said he couldn't really talk, but wanted to check in with me and see how I was. I was a little mad that he called me in the middle of the night, but that's Charlie. Sometimes he just doesn't notice."

"Has Charlie ever mentioned who was after him?" David asked.

"No. He never talked about any of that. He was worried though. Lately, especially. Something had happened in the last month or so." Marjolie stroked Maddie's ears a few times. "Charlie's fine. He has to be."


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

It was now nearly midnight. Don rubbed his tired eyes as he sat at his desk in his office. "What happened in the last month to scare him?"

"He lost his security clearance," Colby offered.

"I'm starting to doubt that very much," Don admitted. "This Alecia woman… what she said in those messages. It sounds like NSA or CIA or something similar. Did Charlie really lose his clearance or was that a cover to throw off these people that were after him?"

"There's no way to check," David said. "If it is a cover-up, then there would be no files anywhere that we would have access to. We don't have that kind of clearance."

"I could hack in," Lauren said with a sigh. "But then I'd be fired and probably arrested and we can't do much to help Charlie from jail, can we? And Charlie's email to Glenn Anderson went through so many servers and satellites I lost it."

"Glenn Anderson said that our Fraud Department was looking into the leaked algorithm for us," Don said thoughtfully, picking up the phone. "MacRooney, its Eppes. Can you come see me for a moment? Thanks."

"What are you thinking?" Megan asked.

"No idea," Don replied, shaking his head.

They waited in silence for Agent MacRooney to join them.

"What can I help you with?" she asked when she walked up to Don's desk a few minutes later.

"Are you working on a case with the FRB?" Don asked.

Jane MacRooney nodded. "Yes, have been for a really long time, it's why I keep bugging you about Charlie."

"But Charlie was involved in that, wasn't he? He designed the security algorithm."

Jane nodded. "Yes. But because he's no longer cleared to work for the FBI, I could only treat him as a witness or suspect. So I interviewed him, and that was it. What I could have used him for is finding someone smart enough to use that leaked algorithm."

"Was there anything going on there that would have made you think Charlie was in danger?" Don asked.

"If I had, you would have been the first to know," Jane said.

Don nodded and ran his hands through his hair again. "I guess I'm grasping at straws now. I need to access my brother's bank accounts," Don said. "Can you do that?"

She raised her eyebrow at him. "Of course I can do that. But we need a court order to do it."

"I don't have one."

"Then you're out of luck. So no clues at all?" She looked at the pictures and notebooks strewn around Don's desk.

"No, nothing yet."

Jane picked up Charlie's notebook and scanned the pages. "Where did you get this?" she asked.

"Charlie's bag. You know what it is?"

"Yes, this is the security algorithm for the Federal Reserve Bank. Why would Charlie have this?"

Don stared at the notebook and tried to figure out the pieces. Somewhere, somehow this had to fit. Charlie would not have left him something he could not solve with the help of his team.

Charlie's laptop. The notebook with password protection algorithms, a horse's name, his name. Marjolie's picture. Protect. His cell phone.

Don jumped to his feet. "Where is Charlie's laptop?"

Lauren looked at him in surprise and motioned to his desk, where the laptop sat silently where she had abandoned it.

Don flipped it open and the ominous password screen came up. Everyone gathered around to watch as Don typed in 'Madraghana.'

The computer bleeped a few times, and the screen changed.

_You're not Charlie._

Don took a deep breath and typed 'Don.'

The computer took a longer time to think this time, before the screen turned white. Everyone held their breath and stared as words began to appear as if someone was typing them.

_Don,_

_If you're reading this it means you can't find me. I'm either dead, or I needed to go away for a little while. I never lost my security clearance, but some things happened that put me and some others in extreme danger. Do NOT look for me anymore. I know that's hard for you, but you'll place everyone in extreme danger if you continue. Please keep Dad safe, please keep Marjolie safe. I know you've found her. She means everything to me. _

_I'm __sorry; I lied to you and made things difficult for you these last few weeks. Please understand I didn't do it because I wanted to, but because I had to. You and Dad and Marjolie are the most important people in my life. I want you to stay safe and be ok, even if that means being without me. I'm worried that I may already have left too late and you're all in horrible danger._

_I've set up accounts to take care of the house and all that… if you can't find them, ask Jane MacRooney, she can trace my accounts, I don't mind._

_David, Colby, Don is way too stubborn to just let this go, I'm counting on you two to tackle him or something if he decides to keep searching._

_Don, please keep my laptop for five years. If I haven't contacted you by then I am most definitely dead and you can destroy it. Use a sledgehammer or something permanent._

_Tell dad I love him and not to worry._

_Love,_

_Charlie._

The screen went blank and then turned back to the password page. Everyone stayed silent.

"Well, my brother is an idiot if he thinks I'm going to just leave it like that," Don snapped finally. "What the hell kind of letter is that? He probably didn't even write it, he doesn't know how to spell half the words in there!"

"Don," David began.

"Don't even say it," Don said with a sigh. "I know. I just don't know what I'm supposed to do."

Lauren pushed the laptop closed. "We'll wait for him to contact us," she said. "There are people working on this somewhere else, who have a much better idea of what they're dealing with. Charlie just had to disappear for a little while. He did this on purpose. No one took him."

A month later Don moved into Charlie's house. He figured his Dad could use the company, but mostly he knew this is where Charlie would come if he ever came back.

Three months later Don sat on the bleachers and watched Madraghana and Marjolie Cooper win first place in a dressage competition.

Six months later Charlie's cell phone rang in the middle of the night. Don fumbled around in the dark and flipped it open.

"It's Alecia. Charlie's safe. He's coming home."

The End

Author's note - I've decided to add an epilogue, in which Charlie will appear... I still have to write it though, but it should be up tomorrow. Thanks for reading!


	9. Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Two months after Alecia's phonecall Don still hadn't heard from Charlie, so he wasn't sure what he was expecting when the door bell rang early on Saturday morning, but it certainly wasn't Charlie standing on the front porch with his hands in his pockets smiling nervously.

Don just stared at him. Charlie was looking pretty good, aside from the massive bruise on one side of his face. He was wearing an unbuttoned shirt over a t-shirt, and stylish jeans. His hair was curly and quite short. He hadn't shaven in a day or two.

"Hey," Charlie said.

"Hey," Don replied, suddenly conscious of the fact he was standing outside in a bathrobe and not much else. "Come in."

"Thanks," Charlie said, following Don into the house. He seemed nervous, and Don had to admit he found this whole thing pretty awkward.

"So, where've you been?" Don demanded, crossing his arms and trying his best Alan impression. Charlie ignored him and wandered into the kitchen. Don hurried after him.

"Where's Dad?" Charlie asked.

"Florida, with Stan."

"Oh." Charlie sounded disappointed, then noticed the three laptops sitting open on the kitchen table. "Whose are those?"

"Oh," Don said, reddening slightly. "Lauren, she, uh, she and I sort of, well... We're together now."

"Oh. That's good." Charlie sank into a chair.

"You look pretty good," Don said. "Where've you been, Milan?"

Charlie managed a laugh. "Yeah, at one point. How are things here? Dad ok?"

"Other than worried sick about you?" Don couldn't help sounding a bit angry. "God, Charlie. Do you have any idea?"

"Yeah," Charlie said, dropping his gaze to his hands. His knuckles were bruised, Don noticed. "I'm sorry. Who's Lauren?"

"A new computer specialist we got a while back. Lauren Allison. She said you two had met."

Charlie shrugged. "Sounds familiar, but I don't know off hand. You live here now?"

"I can move out if you'd like," Don said defensively.

"No, no. That's not… I don't mean to… I've been gone a long time, that's all. I don't know what's going on."

"Well, I guess that makes two of us."

"Ok, you're mad."

"I'm not mad!"

"Are too!"

"Am not! OK, this is not going to work." Don walked to the fridge. "Have you had breakfast?"

"Yeah, I've been up for, like 48 hours. I'm good."

"Oh. I'm going to make toast. Coffee?"

"Please."

Don stuck a couple of slices of bread in the toaster and fiddled with the knob so that he wouldn't be left with two pieces of charcoal, which was how Lauren liked her toast. He set some coffee and then turned back to Charlie, who was watching him.

"What?"

"Nothing," Charlie said somewhat petulantly. "I didn't want to be gone this long, you know."

Don shrugged dismissively and turned back to the toaster, which had just popped out his bread. Only slightly crispy. Perfect.

"You left me the most complicated set of clues ever on the face of the earth," Don muttered as he searched the fridge for some jam.

Charlie raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise. "Wow, you're mad at _that _of all things? It was like, 8 months ago."

"It's not like we've been able to discuss it until now," Don said.

"OK, well, I didn't want the bad guys to figure it out," Charlie said as if speaking to a small child. "And, anyway, I knew you'd be able to, and I was right, wasn't I?"

Don sighed heavily. "I suppose. Honestly, though. You had me and dad worried out of our minds these last few months. We had no idea where you were. You could have been dead!"

"Almost," Charlie said with a nod, tilting his head slightly.

Don narrowed his eyes at him. "Some people were saying you might have killed yourself."

Charlie looked surprised. "Why? And who?"

"The Missing Persons Team suggested it. Because of Princeton."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Explain."

Charlie shrugged. "I needed the numbers to stop. That's all."

"You overdosed!"

"Yeah. And it was blissfully silent for a few hours," Charlie snapped in return. "Look, I haven't slept in two days, I've been gone for _months_, this is not what I want to talk about."

"OK," Don said. "Marjolie."

Charlie sighed and lowered his head on the table.

"Yeah, imagine _my_ surprise," Don said huffily.

"She's a girl I love who doesn't want to be with me because she's afraid of people trying to hurt her," Charlie said, his voice muffled by the table. "How're David and Colby?"

"Nice try, they're fine. I wouldn't write Marjolie off so quickly though, you know. She calls _all the time. _And she's really cute, and… spunky."

Charlie snorted with laughter. "Spunky? That's not a word you should use, like, ever."

Don laughed and sat down beside him. "Seriously."

"Seriously," Charlie said with a nod. "Yeah, I'll… I don't know." He stood and grabbed two mugs out of the cupboard to pour them some coffee. "It feels so weird and so great to be back home, you have no idea."

"What happened to your face?"

Charlie frowned slightly and then shrugged. "Long story."

"Can I hear it?'

Charlie looked uncertain for a moment. "Yeah. Yeah, you can hear it."

Authors note - Ok, so I wrote that a lot faster than I thought I would. Anway, ta da! So, as always, any reviews will sustain me while I'm writing Charlie's reply to Don's question. I like to complete my stories before I begin posting, so it'll be a few days or a week before you hear anything more from me. Thanks for reading!


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